34 



U. S. P. R. R. IXP. AND SURVEYS ZOOLOGY GENERAL REPORT. 



SOREX THOMPSONI, Baird. 



SP. CH. Very small and slender. Ears large, about as long as the fur, which measures 1 J lines. Feet very small and 

 slender ; hinder ones barely exceeding four lines. Tail shorter than the body, exclusive of head ; terminated by a pencil. 

 Only four lateral teeth above, the third in contact with the first molar. Anterior upper incisor with a errated internal 

 lobe near the point. 



Color above, dark olive-brown, slightly hoary ; paler on sides. Beneath, ashy white. No tinge of chestnut or reddish 

 brown. Length, 2 inches. Tail, 1J. 



Description of a Specimen in Alcohol, No. 1686. Size very diminutive ; body slender. Head 

 narrow, pointed, though the muzzle is broad, depressed, and the tip naked ami bilobed. The 

 ear opening is large, the antitragus, helix, and concha, well developed ; their edges well mar 

 gined with hairs ; the concha is nearly as long as the adjacent hair. 



The tail is slightly constricted at the base, rather thin throughout, and appears depressed ; 

 it is well covered with hair concealing the annuli, and ends in a distinct pencil. It is about as 

 long as the body, exclusive of the head. 



The feet are very diminutive ; the posterior measuring but 0.35 of an inch, and a little broader 

 than the anterior ; their soles appear hairy for the posterior third, but there is a narrow naked 

 central line only overlapped by the hairs ; the six plantar tubercles are very large and con 

 spicuous among the smaller ones. There is no distinct ciliation to the feet. 



The color above is an olive-brown, with a hoary intermixture, caused by a lighter penultimate 

 annulus to the hair. Beneath, ashy white ; a faint yellow-brownish tinge under the throat. 

 Feet and under surface of the tail, whitish. Teeth of a deep pitchy chestnut color almost to 

 the roots. 



Measurements of 1686. 



Weight, 21. 984 grains. 



Description of a dried skin. Body very slender. Snout much elongated. Ears quite large, 



with a considerable naked region about the meatus, although the ears are moderately well furred 



They are nearly or quite as long as the fur, which, on the back, measures about 



one and a half lines. The feet are very small, short, and narrow, absolutely less than in any 



species examined by me; the anterior contained a little over one and a half times in the hinder 



The lateral claws behind attain the penultimate articulation of the adjacent toes. 

 The tail is a little less than the body exclusive of the head ; it is very slender, well furred, 

 and ends in a pencil of bristly hairs. 



